Oppostie Gybes, leeward Mark

Originally posted by gordon The rules give to the boat approaching on starboard, and inside or clear ahead at the zone:   - an entitlement to mark room, that is an entitlement to sail directly to the mark along a narrow corridor. This entitlement would be available even if the boat was not a right of way boat. This entitlement remains until the boat has passed the mark; - right of way over any boats on port, overlapped to windward or clear astern. This ROW can be lost during the mark rounding. In this case, Yellow may have right of way by virtue of being on starboard, overlapped to leeward or clear ahead.  Port tack boats will have to keep clear whilst she is on starboard. If she has a boat overlapped on the outside to windward (boats on port will be overlapped) she is obliged, by rule 18.4, to sail no further than her proper course (the port lay line) before gybing. Naturally rules 15, 16 and 17 may apply, and restrict her course If, after gybing, Yellow ceases to be ROW, there may be a boat overlapped to leeward, then she is obliged from that position to sail directly to the mark. The corridor is only defined when Yellow loses ROW.  However, I would suggest that Yellow reads Case 25 attentively. When room is made available at a mark to a boat not entitled to it, she may, at her own risk' take advatage of the room. Yellow is vulnerable to a boat arriving fast on port, passing astern of her as Yellow gybes and rounding the mark with speed! Gordon

Case 63?

Won't a late arriving port tacker have been Outside boat when Y first reached the zone and thus owe Y mark-room?

Why do you say that a boat loses an entitlement to mark-room to sail to the mark when she has passed the mark (provided she is still in tha zone)?

Edited by Brass

Brass:

The rules give to the boat approaching on starboard, and inside or clear ahead at the zone:
 
- an entitlement to mark room, that is an entitlement to sail directly to the mark along a narrow corridor. This entitlement would be available even if the boat was not a right of way boat. This entitlement remains until the boat has passed the mark;

- right of way over any boats on port, overlapped to windward or clear astern. This ROW can be lost during the mark rounding.

In this case, Yellow may have right of way by virtue of being on starboard, overlapped to leeward or clear ahead.  Port tack boats will have to keep clear whilst she is on starboard. If she has a boat overlapped on the outside to windward (boats on port will be overlapped) she is obliged, by rule 18.4, to sail no further than her proper course (the port lay line) before gybing. Naturally rules 15, 16 and 17 may apply, and restrict her course

If, after gybing, Yellow ceases to be ROW, there may be a boat overlapped to leeward, then she is obliged from that position to sail directly to the mark. The corridor is only defined when Yellow loses ROW.

 However, I would suggest that Yellow reads Case 25 attentively. When room is made available at a mark to a boat not entitled to it, she may, at her own risk' take advatage of the room. Yellow is vulnerable to a boat arriving fast on port, passing astern of her as Yellow gybes and rounding the mark with speed!

Gordon

1. ISAF Case Book is authoritative- see page 5 of Case Book
2. The "narrow corridor" - the space a boat needs to sail directly, while manoeuvering promptly in a seamanlike fashion from point of entry to a position close to and alongside the mark
3 In case 75 S does not sail any further from mark than her proper course
4 If you are implying that many boats regularily break the rules when doing normal accepted sailing, regrettably I would have to concur!

Gordon

Strange how something that is usually straight forward on the water becomes difficult when being described. When running down to a mark, the outer (stb) boat will generally leave enough space for the inner (port) boat to make it round the mark, but not more. It really is human nature. Phrases like "you've plenty of room" will often be heard. I've not come across too many people who expect enough room in a situation like that to sail a supertanker through, but it does happen.
One other thing to be aware of in handicap racing is that the inside boat needs enough room to fit that sort of boat through, so a Wayfarer needs a Wayfarer sized hole, not a hole the Topper leaving the space might have needed...

the protest committee sided with me.

That doesn't make them right any more than the collective
view on this forum might be right (or wrong).

So what we were the facts found in this case?